It is probably true. There are remnants of Chines ships in places like the Sacramento River. Many people “discovered” or even traveled back and forth to America from way BC to Columbus but he was the one who made it permanent. He publicized it. The Chinese in the 1420s probably came to both coasts, their maps show it, but the Emperor in a new Dynasty Emperor shut down foreign contact when the ships returned. burned the ships of Zheng He’s fleet and closed the borders. The Discovery accomplished nothing for the then future except for maps, copies of which Columbus may well have seen.
Read two books by Gavin Menzies ———
Titles: “1421” and “1434”.
I definitely agree that there were many pre-Columbian migrations to America spanning thousands of years and likely emanating from places as far flung as Asia, Polynesia, Australia, Europe and possibly North Africa. It’s a fascinating subject that archeologists are only beginning to understand. But the particular migration being discussed in this program is suspect IMO. Even Chinese scholars have questioned the authenticity of the maps that are cited to make the case.
Those who say, “What difference does it make? The largest pre-Columbian migrations clearly came from Asia” miss the point. Asia and China describe two separate things. When we’re talking China, we’re referring to not only an ethnic grouping but also a political entity. The Asians who came to America thousands of years ago may have been ancestors to modern Chinese, but they had no connection to the relatively new entity known as China. Attempts to specifically credit Chinese civilization with extensive pre-Columbian exploration of America likely have a political agenda, so any evidence proffered to make the case should be looked at very carefully and with some skepticism.